Teach a Service-Learning Course

APPLES offers an array of services and resources to assist faculty in the development and integration of service-learning experiences in the classroom. Although specific understandings of service-learning pedagogy vary as the field has grown, the range of definitions has begun to converge on several core characteristics of service-learning. APPLES Service-Learning uses Bringle & Hatcher’s (1995) definition of academic service-learning as a “course-based, credit-bearing educational experience in which students participate in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs and reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline and an enhanced sense of personal values and civic responsibility.”

At a minimum, service-learning courses must meet the following criteria:

the course has a formal, academic curriculum that is rooted in the discipline in which the course is being offered

the course contains a set of organized community-based learning activities through which students directly serve a constituency as a means to address an identified community need through a minimum of 30 hours of service

the course provides structured opportunities for students to critically connect their service activities to the course curriculum.

The APPLES staff is available to all faculty and instructors interested in service-learning pedagogy. This guide will assist with learning more about the basics of service-learning pedagogy and course development. Each semester, APPLES is working with more faculty, new disciplines and exciting courses. Faculty new to service-learning should contact the APPLES office to schedule a consultation with a staff member.